The Rugby Championship kicks off for 2017 this weekend, starting with old foes New Zealand and Australia facing off in a match that doubles as the first of the three-match Bledisloe Cup series. So where will the two matches be played, what time do they kick off, and who will feature?

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"So it's going to be a tough match. He obviously loves playing here at Leichhardt. It'll be for the opposite team so I don't know how the fans will treat him, but he'll be pumped up."

Taylor is bracing for "a lot of aggression" from Taupau.

"That's what he plays with and what we're expecting," he said.

"Interesting that he's been named in the back row. I'm not sure that he's played there very often in the past.

"So that'll be a change for him."

Taylor suspects Manly counterpart Trent Barrett may also tinker with the side he named on Tuesday, despite the Sea Eagles coach claiming on Friday that star fullback Brett Stewart definitely wouldn't play - and may not for several weeks as he recovers from his nagging hamstring injury.

"I imagine Brett Stewart's pushing to play there somewhere, so we'll see what their team is an hour before kick-off," Taylor said.

"But the one that's been named is certainly one that we're wary of at this stage.

"But it's really hard to predict how they're going to play. There's a number of changes to their team and obviously they wouldn't be comfortable with the way things went last week.

"So we're expecting a really strong performance from them and a really aggressive performance.

"The Bulldogs probably showed them the way to play last week and I think they'll take a fair bit of inspiration out of that and say we've got to be ready."

"They will play with I'm sure a lot more commitment and a lot more energy right from the start."